Afghanistan has become the endless war
LONDON, U.K.—In 2010, Barack Obama’s vice-president, Joe Biden, vowed that the United States would be “totally out” of Afghanistan “come hell or high water, by 2014.” In 2014, Obama said that he would leave about 8,000 U.S. troops there after all, and made an agreement with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani that extended their stay “until […]
European countries show how to raise impaired-driving standards without clogging courts
Re: “Tory, Liberal Senators join chorus opposing justice minister’s drunk-driving proposal” (The Hill Times, Aug. 23, p. 1). If reducing the legal blood-alcohol content (BAC) level to less than 0.05 per cent is considered untenable because it might clog the courts, one wonders how the legalization of marijuana will affect the system when, on the […]
Dealing with madman in high office is no easy dilemma
BOSTON—Is being batshit crazy an impediment to high public office? It is a question much debated these days down here in the Disunited States. As the Unpresident continues his ever-downward descent into the darkest, dankest depths, many serious people are asking a serious question: is Donald Trump insane? Is he nuts? Is he now, at […]
Defence-policy review results will become irrelevant
VANCOUVER—Months after the government released its long-awaited defence-policy review (DPR) statement, questions swirl on a number of key areas—from whether an interim fleet of aircraft will be acquired to challenges facing its frigate replacements. Even the ongoing crisis with North Korea has generated concern about the ballistic missile threat facing Canada. With this in mind, […]
Senator Duffy, have you not taken enough already?
Sen. Mike Duffy has decided federal taxpayers owe him another $8-million, on top of the hundreds of thousands of dollars that have already been paid to him in salary, will continue to be paid to him until he retires, and the gold-plated pension he’ll receive after that. And this is after claiming tens of thousands […]
Illegal border crossings can no longer be overlooked
GATINEAU, QUE.—The influx of mostly-Haitian asylum seekers across the Quebec border could hardly have come at a more delicate time. In the United States, of course, the embers of racism and xenophobia are regularly fanned by an unstable president with no moral centre and little common decency. While Canada isn’t immune from the contagion, so […]
Saying goodbye to political legend Arthur Finkelstein
OAKVILLE, ONT.—The luckiest thing that ever happened to me in my professional career was I got a chance to work with and to learn from the legendary Arthur Finkelstein. Now, you’re probably saying to yourself, “Arthur who?” which is totally understandable since, although he was one of the world’s foremost political consultants and pollsters, Arthur […]
Canadians want Trudeau to offset Trump on welcoming refugees
OTTAWA—Damned if you do. Damned if you don’t. Such is the dilemma facing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with the increase in ambulatory migrants arriving from the United States in the wake of American removal rumblings. News reports say that more than 7,500 people have streamed across the Canada-United States border in the past three months. […]
Why worry about Holocaust deniers when evidence easily discredits them?
Re: “Holocaust denier Zundel dies, good riddance” (The Hill Times, Aug. 14, p. 14). Warren Kinsella’s condemnation of this German may salve guilty consciences about the treatment of Jewish people in Canada, however the Bible warns against focusing on the faults of others. Bruno Bettelheim, once a concentration camp inmate, wrote that the word “Holocaust” […]
Trump should have followed instincts, brought the troops home
TORONTO—As he committed America and its allies to years more of war in Afghanistan, Donald Trump made a stark confession last week. “My original instinct was to pull out,” the U.S. president said in a televised speech. “And I historically like following my instincts.” This time, however, he didn’t. Too bad. The war in Afghanistan […]
